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Providence, Rhode Island
Choreographing Hope, March 2000
Reprinted from Views, Fall 2000
by Tony Ballis, President, The Humanity Foundation
Imagine creating day of hope. Where would you begin? What would
you do? Imagine further that its afterglow settled lightly and
forever on the hearts of all who witnessed it. How could this be?
 At the first light of spring, last march, RISD shone with such a
day. Seventy-five invited guests -- from the media, education and
community service organizations -- engaged in a passionate
conversation on hope, sponsored by The Humanity Foundation and
conceived and choreographed by RISD professors Tom Ockerse,
program head of Graduate Studies in Graphic Design, and Anne West
of the Graduate Studies Division. In the word of one participant,
the day "unfolded in ways none of us could imagine. It was
transformational, meaningful, heartfelt, soulful, igniting and
inspiring." Indeed last November, when Tom, Anne and I had
decided to invest in a day of hope -- following our discussions with
Images and Voices of Hope, a group of grassroots activists
headquartered in Boston that helped sponsor our event -- we had no
idea of how it might turn out. There was no precedent. From the opening
invocation in the Ewing Center by Kala Iyengar of the Brahma
Kumaris World Spiritual Organization, the engagement was palpable
Anne read Mary Oliver's poem "Morning Light" storyteller
Laura Simms, artist in residence of the Lincoln Center Institute for
Arts and Education in New York City, spun a welcoming tale; we broke
bread together, baked especially for the occasion, presented around
a centerpiece of lemons, lotus flowers and candles' and the walked
to nearby Metcalf refectory. A graceful environment of wall hangings,
delicate flowers on scrims, perfectly complemented a gift of a
hand-bound journal and a custom-sewn 12-page program with a bright
yellow cover that read "Questions of Hope," followed by a
translucent sheet stating simply "Narratives of
Opening."
 Over the next eight hours, I had the rare honor
of introducing those who would initiate the day's conversations.
After speaking briefly about The Humanity Foundation, I asked the
first question: "What does it mean to choreograph hope?"
Sitting in groups of four at tables with coverings made to write on,
we engaged each other in answers and more questions. As one
participant from Boston said later, "Right away, my own
creativity began to unfold. We drew mind-maps and wrote out our
conversations. We spoke of windows of possibilities, of amplifying
the consciousness, of crystallizing the world, of the social
responsibility of graphic designers, of a willingness to go out on
the dance floor hear the rhythm, feel the beat and take the steps to
move forward." The here and now
Next, as we changed tables for a new conversation Vivian Darroch-Lozowski,
a professor of holistic and aesthetic education at the University of
Toronto, Canada, spoke about "the poetics of the future -- how
the truth of experience is founded in the voices of the
present." Vivian read moving excerpts from her book Blue
Cloud about her experiences in China. She told us: "History
is not what shapes us but what claims us." Her question to us
was, "How can we find hope in the everyday voices around us?" Steve
Jones MFA '98 GD, who lives in San Francisco, led our next
conversation. As the son of Jamaican parents, Steve has long been
interested in how people of color are represented in popular
culture. His talk on cultural sensitivity and our commercial use of
images awakened in us a deeper awareness of our blindness to
different levels of racism. Yogi Amarit Desai, renowned yoga master,
seminar leader and author, followed Steve in another group
discussion. "Hope can be appropriate for those in extreme
despair and distress," Yogi Desai advised us, "but it also
may be an escape for those who use it as a vehicle for creation of
expectations and anticipation to avoid experiencing the reality of
life." I was reminded of the importance of experiencing the
here and now, of living in the present tense and not only in the
future.
 At noon the church bells of Providence rang in unison to
herald in the first day of spring. Lunch was served. Each table had
an ethereal arrangement of peach blossoms. At each seat was a rock
with the word "hope" painted in the center of a heart. In
a room walled with windows, white screens hung from the ceiling
delicately printed in white with phrases from "Morning
Light." President Roger Mandle spoke passionately after
lunch about the social responsibility of RISD students and the
distinct value of a RISD education. He was so convincing that I
immediately announced to the assembly that i "would be applying
to RISD as a 50-year-old freshman!" Laura Simms shared
another captivating story, about our obligation to feed all people of
this universe. We then adjourned to view four exhibits specially
mounted for the day or to take a nature walk across campus.
 Pure serenity
I reconvened us for the afternoon with the comic help of the
ever-hopeful Wile E. Coyote in a Roadrunner cartoon. Anne and
Tom initiated our fifth conversation, using the poetic form of haiku
to engage us. They asked us to write a five-syllable line of verse
that came as a spontaneous images of hope and then pass it to the
person on our left to write a seven-syllable line of verse. We did
this several times at our tables of four. "It was amazing to
hear the words that flowed with poetic beauty from all of us,"
on participant later wrote. "Our senses were re-ignited." The
next spark was provided by Sister Helen Brancato, the
director of the Southwest Community Enrichment Center in
Philadelphia, which encourages people of all ages to express
themselves through the arts. Helen shared video clips and slides of
the people who come to her center and their artwork. In particular,
she brought to life the inspiring journey of Ida May Sydnor, an
African-American woman in her late seventies who, despite years of
confinement and abuse, found the freedom to express her creativity
and rekindle her spirit through painting.
 Molly Schoenhoff MDF
'00GD, along with students from Brown University, next riveted our
attention with "hidden voices released," a performance
developed from their work with women in prison. It connected what is
known with what is unknown, questioning the boundaries we take for
granted, suggesting that each person's experience influences
another's.
 The afternoon ended with a solo performance by
puppeteer Heather Henson '95 IL. The stage was dimmed and
subtle lighting brought use to silence as Heather's lithe figure
clad in a papier-mache deer cast entrancing shadows on the stage.
Her dance, entitled "Deerbourne," was about an elder
winged deer that encourages the birth of a fawn from a flower and
teaches it to fly. By this time, a deep sense of serenity and
inner tranquility pervaded the air. As master of ceremonies, I felt
all I needed to do was stand in silence between each conversation,
and let the gods simply show us what was next, proving that hope not
only springs eternal, it pervades our human nature.
 Prior to two
quiet evening happenings -- a lighted labyrinth walk on Market
Square a "fire & ice" installation at the
riverfront by Chris Bertoni, dean of Graduate Studies, we
enjoyed vernal equinox tea poured from silver carafes, with pastries
artistically arranged on platters. Laura Simms then witnessed our
time together, drawing us even closer in that bond of serenity and
common exploration. Following her, many of the participants were
moved to offer their own spontaneous witnessing, included a cappella
singing and original poetry. I, a total non-singer, was so moved I
almost sang the line from "Over the Rainbow" about the
land where dreams really do come true. It was that kind of day.
Many participants have since told us that they had never experienced
anything like it, a warm tribute to the many volunteers in
Providence who helped to make it happen. We thank them all again.
With any luck, The Humanity Foundation will produce a CD of the day.
When we do, it will be available through our Web site, www.humanity.org. Meanwhile,
RISD should long be proud of what Tom and Anne created -- a joyful,
stunning, unforgettable inquiry of hope on the first day of the
first spring of these new and maybe wiser thousands years of human
history.
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